Fukushima town eases entry restrictions in contaminated areas
A Fukushima Prefecture town in northeastern Japan eased entry restrictions Tuesday in some areas within the so-called difficult-to-return zone, heavily contaminated due to the 2011 nuclear accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.
The relaxed restrictions apply to part of the so-called specified living areas in Futaba, one of the two host towns of TEPCO's Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, the site of the accident. In the specified areas, intensive decontamination work is conducted so that people registered as residents can return to their homes.
Following the easing of the restrictions, residents can enter their homes without permission, while they are not permitted to stay overnight.
The relaxation marks the first time that free entry into housing has been permitted in any of the specified living areas in Fukushima. It affects 110 hectares in three administrative districts, whose total size is 530 hectares.
Around 9 a.m. Tuesday, nine barricades at roads leading to areas where the relaxed restrictions apply were opened. Residents and police were seen entering by car.
"I hope the easing will give a push to the eventual removal of the evacuation orders and return of residents," said Takeo Fukuda, 72, head of Shimonagatsuka, one of the three districts.
The specified living areas were designated in six municipalities in Fukushima, as many residents wish to return.
In Futaba, decontamination work has been conducted with state funds since December 2023. The decontamination had been completed in 47 per cent of the three districts as of the end of October this year.
The town is working toward lifting the evacuation orders by the end of March 2027.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
